Kill Shot

by Susan Sleeman

  He wanted to linger in his bad mood and didn’t want to cheer up, but he had to smile at her cute expression. He sat next to her. “I think you’re good for me, Doc.”

  She shot him a surprised look. “How so?”

  He shrugged. “You just are.”

  Embarrassed at sharing his feelings, he dug into the cold spaghetti salad with Italian dressing, onions, green peppers, and tomatoes plus a special red spice mixed in. He groaned.

  “Good?” Olivia asked.

  “Try it.” As his teammates came to the table, he leaned closer to Olivia. “Yo used to tell me it was fairy dust sprinkled on the noodles to get me to eat it. Tell anyone that, and I’ll deny it.”

  She grinned and then took a bite. “Fairy dust or not, it’s really good. I wonder what the spice really is.”

  “She’s never said, but if you ask, I’m sure she’ll tell you.”

  Once everyone was seated, his mother came to the table. “Can I get anything for anyone?”

  “Please, just join us,” Max said. “The team isn’t used to first-class service like this, and I can’t have you spoiling them. Now me—” He grinned. “Spoil away.”

  Even as Rick’s dad took the expected seat, Rick laughed at Max’s joke. It was a rare day when Max lightened up, and Rick wouldn’t miss out on it.

  “No need to spoil him, Mom,” Rick said. “He’s the boss and sits in his ivory tower while we all do the grunt work, so I’d say he’s already spoiled.”

  Laughter rang out around the table, and Rick could say he was honestly enjoying himself.

  “You know, Son,” his dad said when the laughter died down “it’s not all fun and games in ivory towers. We work hard there, too, don’t we, Max?”

  Max shot his dad a confused look, and Rick cringed at how quickly his dad had ended the good mood.

  “I was kidding,” Rick said. “Max doesn’t work in an ivory tower. He’s a government employee like the rest of the team, working untold hours for little pay. But he’s making a difference in the world and saving lives, so isn’t that the most important thing?”

  His dad clenched his jaw.

  Olivia raised her tea glass. “To everyone on the team. Thank you for your service.”

  Rick appreciated her saving the dinner by ending a discussion that was bound to go downhill fast. He clinked glasses with her and took a long swallow. The others started conversations, easing the awkwardness.

  “Thank you,” Rick whispered to her.

  “You’re welcome, but now you owe me.” She faked twisting the ends of a mustache.

  “And what do you intend to collect as payment?” he asked good-naturedly.

  “You’ll tell me exactly what’s going on between you and your parents.”

  “Now?”

  “Later. When we’re alone. And don’t think you can get away with your usual clamming up. There’s no way I’ll let you off the hook.”

  * * *

  Fredrick Cannon smiled from the head of the table, his gaze running over the group as if he felt superior to them, but it was his little secret. Olivia doubted his feeling of superiority was a secret to anyone here. Rick’s personality couldn’t be more diametrically opposed to his father’s, and she was thankful for that. Though his father was talkative and animated, all of it was superficial. She much preferred Rick’s stoic behavior, because when he did say something, there was substance to it.

  A squeaking noise caught Olivia’s attention. She turned to find Yolanda pushing a silver trolley holding dessert plates and two pies piled high with whipped cream. She’d swirled caramel sauce through it and sprinkled nuts over all.

  “Dessert,” she announced.

  “I won’t complain about being the first one to have a piece.” Rick pushed back his chair to face her.

  The red-cheeked Yolanda cut and served Rick a thick piece of pie with a graham cracker crust, apples, and cream cheese filling, all of it dripping with more caramel sauce.

  She rested her hand on his shoulder, and he peered up at her. Olivia wished she could see his expression, as she knew it would tell her a lot about him. He took his plate, dug in, and didn’t seem as if he was coming up for air soon. When Olivia took the first bite of her slice, the sweetness exploded in her mouth and she was in dessert heaven, soon to be in a sugar coma. Others started eating, and silence fell over the table, moans of appreciation the only sounds.

  “It’s just a sugary dessert, for Pete’s sake,” Fredrick said, but no one paid him any attention, and they all continued eating.

  Kaci’s phone dinged, earning her a sharp look from Rick’s father. “We don’t allow phones at our table.”

  “Our work doesn’t stop for anything.”

  Olivia was impressed with the young agent’s ability to stand up to Fredrick.

  She glanced at the text, then looked up and met Max’s gaze. “Will you and Rick join me for a minute?”

  As they got up, the joy of the evening evaporated from their faces. Olivia lost all interest in her pie and sat back to watch them. They chatted for only a moment before returning to the table.

  Rick stopped by Grace’s chair. “We need a private meeting space. Can we use the library?”

  “Of course,” she said. “Would you all like some coffee?”

  Rick shook his head.

  “I’ll be glad to powwow with you if I can be of help,” Fredrick offered.

  Rick’s mouth fell open for a second before he snapped it shut. “Let’s go, team.”

  “Can I bring the pie?” Shane asked.

  “You won’t want it once you hear the latest,” Max warned.

  Olivia’s stomach tightened against the delicious meal she’d consumed.

  Rick bent down. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting here, we might need to call you into the meeting.”

  “Of course.” She tried to sound calm but couldn’t help wondering what could be so dire and at the same time be connected to her.

  He hurried to catch up with his teammates, who were stepping in through the patio doorway. She watched his powerful strides, his body tense with a sense of urgency, and she suddenly felt alone. It was hard to believe it hadn’t even been two full days since she’d wished he would leave her alone. How had she gone from wanting that to wanting him to sit next to her?

  “Can I get you some coffee, sweetheart?” Yolanda asked.

  Olivia swung her gaze to Yolanda. “You mean me?”

  “Why, of course. I can tell you’re about as sweet as my pie.”

  Olivia forced out a smile. “Coffee would be great.”

  She didn’t want it, but she also didn’t want to hurt Yolanda’s feelings.

  “I’ll put the pie away and grab some.” She loaded items onto her cart. “Land sake, but I didn’t expect the night to end this way. Our boy Ricky has a mighty tough job.”

  Fredrick harrumphed, and Grace fired him an irritated look. So Grace wasn’t all prim and proper. It was looking more and more like Rick took after her.

  “Can I help you get the coffee?” Grace asked Yolanda.

  She waved a hand and disappeared with her cart.

  “Why don’t the two of you join me in more comfortable seating?” Fredrick asked, but it was issued as a command.

  Olivia followed him to the seating area where the team had earlier lounged. She took one end of the sofa, and he sat on the other end, Grace in the love seat facing them. Olivia hadn’t wanted to go with the team, but there might be less turmoil in the library than she would experience in the tension that existed between Grace and Fredrick Cannon.

  Chapter 15

  Rick waited to speak until everyone was seated on the nail-studded leather chairs and sofa and Cal had joined them via phone.

  “This better be worth it,” Cal said over the speakerphone. “Tara and I were settling in together, if you get my drift.”

  “TMI, man,” Brynn said, and tight laughter broke out.

  “So what’s going on?” Cal asked.

  “Kac
i just received a text from one of her analysts. She had him continue regular searches of ViCAP for crimes similar to Griffin’s murder and for the chaos tattoo.”

  Shane sat forward, his eyes riveted to Kaci. “And they found something?”

  She nodded. “A police detective just input a murder, and we think it could involve a smart bullet.”

  “Where?” Cal asked.

  “Mobile, Alabama. The former marine, a Cesar Santos, was plugged from a long distance walking down the street at night. The bullet went clean through him and lodged in a fence post.”

  Rick didn’t correct her by saying marines never thought of themselves as former. Being a marine was a mind-set. A lifestyle. Nothing ever changed that.

  “When was he murdered?” Brynn asked.

  “Six days ago, but the detective only entered it in the database in the last hour.”

  “Are we certain it’s related?” Shane asked.

  Rick shook his head. “But there are too many similarities not to consider them.”

  “Name them,” Cal demanded.

  “The victim has a matching chaos tattoo and served in the marines,” Rick said. “He was killed early in the morning on a deserted street. He died from a large-caliber wound from a gun fired at a distance. Single shot. Experts say the shooter used a knife to remove the bullet from the fence. Because the police didn’t recover the slug, we can’t be certain it was a .50 or even a smart bullet.”

  “Sounds like the shooter didn’t want law enforcement to discover the smart bullet,” Cal said.

  Rick nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking, and we have a shooter with a knife like the guy seen lurking over Griffin.”

  “Exactly,” Max said. “As if he planned to recover the bullet at that scene, too, but Olivia interrupted him.”

  “The real kicker is that the victim is also…” Hating to utter these next words, Rick paused for a moment. “Olivia’s former client.”

  As he’d expected, conversation erupted among his teammates.

  Brynn cleared her throat, and the conversation stilled. “It can’t be a coincidence.”

  “Could be,” Rick said trying to dispel the look of doubt in Brynn’s eyes, but he didn’t honestly believe it. “And we can’t limit our investigation to the connection to Olivia.”

  “Perhaps both victims were involved in the ordnance theft,” Shane suggested. “And the shooter turned on them to cut them out of the money.”

  “Sounds plausible,” Max said. “Though we still don’t have any evidence to suggest Griffin was in on the planning, and we do know he didn’t execute.”

  “We need to discover the whereabouts of this Santos fellow on that night,” Shane said.

  “Speaking of the theft, where are you with MilMed, Cal?” Rick asked.

  “I’ve reviewed all of the internal correspondence.” Cal’s voice carried across the room. “No one other than the five people Erickson told you about were included in communications. I also interviewed the staff and have a potential lead with the security guard. Turns out he has a drinking problem, and he’s known to brag about his work. He’s a police academy washout and wants to feel more important. I’ll be interviewing him in the morning to see if he told anyone about the delivery.”

  “Keep us informed,” Max said.

  “Now might be a good time to tell you I lifted a boot print from the woods,” Brynn said. “Size eleven, I’d guess. Looks like the tread from a military or combat boot. I took high-resolution 3-D images of the print and sent them off to an expert for evaluation.”

  “The guy in the park video was wearing Belleville 590s with the USMC emblem embossed on them,” Rick said.

  “I’ll text my expert so he can run a comparison.” She took out her phone and started tapping the screen.

  “I wish I could say the print helps us narrow in on one suspect,” Rick said. “But after talking to Erickson and seeing the guy in the Chick-fil-A video isn’t the same guy from the park, we now know that at least two men are involved in the theft. The guy in the park has a chaos tattoo matching Griffin’s. The odds of them not being connected have to be astronomical.”

  Kaci’s eyes lit up. “I could actually plug it into an algorithmic and give you the exact odds, but they are long indeed.”

  If Rick didn’t know that Kaci was an extreme geek, he would think she was joking at a time like this.

  “The guy at Chick-fil-A had a Semper fi tattoo on his left wrist,” Rick continued. “And was wearing a camo jacket like the one Olivia witnessed the night of Griffin’s murder. He also was strapped, carrying on his left side.”

  “A lefty, like the guy with the knife,” Brynn said.

  Rick nodded. “I showed both photos to Olivia, and she didn’t recognize either guy.”

  “Or at least she claims she doesn’t know them.” Brynn eyed him as if waiting for him to admit his interest in Olivia that Brynn had witnessed in the park. She was a strong team player, and as such she often felt she needed to protect the others from anyone with questionable motives.

  He didn’t acknowledge it, though. “I stand corrected.”

  “I’ve run the second guy through facial recognition, too,” Kaci said. “No match. Just like the other suspect.”

  Shane tapped his chin. “So we’re dealing with thieves with no prior record. Stealing the smart bullet is pretty brazen if they’re novices.”

  “Maybe they just haven’t been caught,” Brynn said.

  Max’s forehead creased. “Either way there’s no doubt we’re looking at two suspects now.”

  “Anything else in the video to help our cause?” Shane asked.

  “The guy drove a two-ton GMC truck. Flatbed. White. It had something strapped on the back and covered with canvas. Looked like motorcycle handlebars—a pair of bikes side by side—under there, but that’s my gut feel. Still, the truck is something to go on.”

  “I can return to the ranges and clubs I visited today with the new suspect’s picture,” Shane offered. “Plus I now have the Semper fi tat to share and the truck picture, if you’ll send it to me. Like I said yesterday, other guys might not remember a face, but will be all over a tat and a truck.”

  “I’ll e-mail you a list of the people Griffin worked with in the past so you can ask about them, too,” Kaci said.

  “I’ve tasked the locals with interviewing them,” Rick added. “But they might miss a connection to a shooting range or gun club, so it’s a great idea to check it out while you’re at it.”

  “Okay.” Brynn sat forward, her eyes narrowed. “I’ll mention the elephant in the room. Are we all still thinking that Olivia might have something to do with the theft and shooting or not?”

  “I admit it looks bad that Santos was also her client,” Rick said before anyone else could weigh in. “But we haven’t uncovered a motive for her to be involved. Plus I’ve spent more time with her than the rest of you, and I don’t see it.”

  Shane eyed him. “You could be getting too close.”

  “I concur,” Brynn said.

  Rick shook his head, but wondered if they were right. No. He hadn’t gotten too close to make solid decisions, but he’d lost a bit of his edge.

  “So what’s the plan?” ever-practical Cal asked.

  “Not that I’ve had a chance to work out any details, but I need to talk with the detective in Mobile, review evidence, and view the crime scene.” Rick looked at Kaci. “Once I have Santos’s time of death, I’ll be asking you to confirm that Olivia was here in Atlanta. I highly doubt that she’s the shooter, but—”

  “You’re assuming she wasn’t here?” Max interrupted.

  Rick shook his head. “I’m assuming she’ll provide us with an alibi for the time of the murder, and we’ll need to verify it.”

  Max nodded, but he was holding something back, and Rick didn’t like the look. Max likely had the same opinion as Shane and Brynn, that Rick was getting too close to Olivia. If Rick saw a teammate go to bat for a suspect without any proof
of their innocence, he might have the same opinion.

  “The murder occurred on a public street, and the crime scene has likely been compromised by now,” Brynn said. “There’s no point in me tagging along. I’m available via virtual reality if you need me.”

  Rick nodded and thought it might be worth not having Brynn on site for the rare chance to use their Google Glass display with the virtual reality app. “Unless something else comes up, I’ll leave for Mobile first thing in the morning.”

  Rick’s mind was barreling ahead a million miles per hour and he needed more information and time to make sound decisions. But one thing he did know, the next step was to question Olivia. “It’s time we find out what Olivia knows about Santos.”

  Max ran a practiced eye over Rick.

  “I’ll go get her.” Rick took a step to leave.

  “There’s one more thing I need to mention before Olivia joins us,” Kaci called out. She chewed on her lip, telling Rick she didn’t want to bring up whatever she was planning to say.

  “Out with it,” Max said.

  “I hacked into MilMed’s network, and you won’t believe what I found.”

  “You did what?” Max shot to his feet.

  “Erickson was being such a doofus telling us that their network was impenetrable. I wanted to prove him wrong to get him to take us seriously and cooperate.”

  Max spun on Rick. “Did you know about this?”

  “I knew she planned to try, but not that she succeeded.” He shifted his focus to Kaci. “What did you find?”

  “There were other technologies in the van carrying the self-steering bullets, and they were stolen, too.”

  “Technologies like what?” Max asked.

  “I don’t know yet, but if they didn’t tell us about these items there might be other things they haven’t mentioned, and we need to know about them.”

  Max scowled. “Or we don’t have the security clearance to be read in on the other technology.”

  Kaci closed her computer. “Um…well…if that’s the case, I’ve really messed up.”

  “Meaning you’ve been poking around in their network,” Max said.